Re: My review to come end of this weekend djf David Pogue Roasts the Blackberry Storm for Thanksgiving

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Lee Keet" <Lee () VanguardAtlantic com>
Date: December 12, 2008 10:17:01 AM EST
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: RE: [IP] Re:    David Pogue Roasts the Blackberry Storm for  
Thanksgiving

Dave,

For IP if you wish:

I bought my Storm to upgrade from my World Phone (8830), which I still  
have,
but which I am not going back to.  I waited to write this because David
Poque's review was SO negative and he is a great reviewer, so I  
assumed that
I must be wrong or that he does not care much about coverage.  I travel
internationally and also need good internet coverage in the American
boondocks, so Verizon is the only carrier that meets my needs (AT&T  
does not
even cover some of the places I go, at any speed).

The Storm has many start-up glitches and some design failures, but on
balance it is a good phone/PDA/etc.  True, it struggles occasionally in
finding its screen orientation, and many of the non-native  
applications do
not yet recognize the multi-orientation and virtual keyboard, but the  
native
applications work very well and some are brilliant (e.g., the PDF viewer
which will expand even the tiniest spreadsheets into readable text).   
The
screen is beautiful, and reading email is a joy.  The combination of the
large screen and good business aps makes this useable for me (for the  
first
time) with Microsoft Office and Acrobat files.  Phone quality is  
excellent,
with five-band (200 country) coverage.

The camera is especially nice if you care about that, and I do  
occasionally
want a small camera with me: now this will be it.  It is not an iPod but
works well as a substitute for music on the go, with very good stereo  
sound.
It tethers extremely well as a modem (but install the Verizon software  
first
because its drivers are older than the Desktop synch stuff from RIM).
Typing in SureType (vertical) mode works well once you learn it. I was  
able
to type as fast on the virtual (horizontal) keyboard as I could on my  
8830
once I learned that it has a right and left-hand orientation (i.e.,  
does not
work well at cross-screen touch typing because the QWE side expects taps
from the left and the RTY side expects taps from the right).

It is frustrating to lose some of the independent aps temporarily  
because of
the touch screen and virtual keyboard (e.g., ZAGAT to Go, BEIKS  
dictionary,
Google maps (sort of, but the Verizon maps work great).  Some worked  
fine
with no upgrades, e.g., my Berlitz language dictionaries).  I assume the
non-compliant aps will get upgrades if the phone is a hit.  I also  
assume
that the occasional software snags (deep space for a minute now and  
then)
will get rapid fixes.  Even with these bugs I took it to California this
week and found myself using it regularly with no problems that I could  
not
live with for the nonce.  Thanks to the excellent EVDO tethering I  
cancelled
my built-in EVDO service saving $45 per month.

Despite the flaws, I disagree with David Pogue in the main.  This has  
the
potential to be a great business phone for those of us who travel
internationally and is, in my opinion, a step up from the 8830 World  
Phone.
If Verizon and RIM move quickly to solve the software issues that  
frustrate
heavy users I suspect this will be a big winner for them.

Cheers,
Lee
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ernest E. Keet
President
Vanguard Atlantic Ltd.
www.VanguardAtlantic.com
Tel: 1-877-LEE-KEET (533-5338)
Fax: 1-877-FAX-2VAL (329-2825)

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 4:10 AM
To: ip
Subject: [IP] Re: David Pogue Roasts the Blackberry Storm for  
Thanksgiving



December 4, 2008
FROM THE DESK OF DAVID POGUE
Readers React to David Pogue's Review of the BlackBerry Storm
By DAVID POGUE
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/technology/personaltech/04pogue-email.htm
l?_r=2&bl&ex=1228539600&en=4750d6cf8c5bac73&ei=5087%0A
>
I learned something last week.

In my Times print column, I reviewed the BlackBerry Storm, by far the
worst product Research in Motion has ever produced. I had problems
with its concept, problems with its clicky touch screen, problems with
its speed, and above all, problems with bugs (which the company
refused to acknowledge, even when I sent them videos of the phone
acting up and even locking up).

About 100 readers wrote to say that they had bought the Storm and now
regretted it. Some samples:

"I want to thank you for validating the experiences I've had with my
new BlackBerry Storm. It has been an absolute nightmare. As soon as I
return to New York, I will take advantage of Verizon's 30-day return
policy and get rid of this monstrosity."

"I rushed out last week to try the new Storm--and was frustrated,
confused and bewildered by the device. I couldn't use the browser, and
was even hard pressed to make a phone call."

"My Storm was like something from a Stephen King novel: possessed of
its own mind. Touching or selecting on the screen highlighted
something totally unrelated. The lag in switching from horizontal to
vertical almost made it seem that the screen was deciding its own when
to shift."

"One of my co-workers, who is almost militant in his disdain for all
things Apple, couldn't wait to get his hands on a Storm. Lo & behold,
30 minutes later, he was trying to figure out a way to get his money
back."



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